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Nintendo reports quarterly loss thanks to falling DS, Wii sales

Nintendo has posted their first quarterly loss since 2007 this week, citing falling DS and Wii sales alongside a stronger yen causing overseas earnings value to plummet.

For the three months ended June 30th, Nintendo saw a net loss of 25.2 billion yen ($289 million USD), compared to a profit of 42.3 billion yen ($485.6 million USD) in the same period last year.



Nintendo noted it took a one-time currency-related loss of 70.5 billion yen ($800 million USD) for the quarter.

"The foreign-currency fluctuation exposure and sluggish consumer demand in the U.S. add up to a rather bleak outlook for the company," said Kiyoshi Ishigane, a senior strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management.

That "sluggish consumer demand" is a direct response to falling demand for the Wii and DS consoles, which have long been strong sellers, here in the U.S. and abroad. June saw DS sales plummet 33 percent in the U.S. last month alone. Overall, first quarter sales of the DS fell 47 percent, with software falling 23 percent.

Nintendo is expected to release their Nintendo 3DS handheld in the next 9 months, offering a device that allows gamers to watch 3D images and play 3D games without the need for special glasses.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Jul 2010 12:25

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• 8 comments

• KillerBug

  Amazing! A quarterly loss statement from nintendo that does not blame piracy, but rather their own outdated hardware and crummy games. Well, actually they blamed "sluggish consumer demand"...and since the 360 and ps3 are selling well, we can assume that means that anyone who wanted anything from nintendo already has it, or will buy it used.
  
  Sorry nintendo...all those middle-aged women that bought the wii only got one game (or three if it came with three), and they never play it anyway...and now it isn't even trendy to have one next to the TV.

  29.7.2010 12:32 #1

• gnovak1

  Isn't this the same company who always dominated the Xbox and PS3 in sales? I always read how the Wii was always beating the xbox and PS3 and they are the ones losing money.
  
  That's because their crappy games are not selling. I know these companys lose money with every sale of a console hoping that game sales will get their money back. But if you sell crappy games, that ain't gonna happen.

  29.7.2010 12:52 #2

• DVDBack23

  Originally posted by gnovak1: Isn't this the same company who always dominated the Xbox and PS3 in sales? I always read how the Wii was always beating the xbox and PS3 and they are the ones losing money.
  
  That's because their crappy games are not selling. I know these companys lose money with every sale of a console hoping that game sales will get their money back. But if you sell crappy games, that ain't gonna happen.
  Be reminded, Sony and Microsoft have lost money in their gaming divisions for years in a row now, whereas Nintendo has been extremely profitable since the Wii's launch.
  
  The Wii and DS may be hitting saturation, however, allowing for the PS3 and 360 to gain momentum.
  

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  29.7.2010 12:59 #3

• xboxdvl2

  ive tried both the ds and the wii and i didnt like either of them.back in the 90s the super nintendo was the thing to own but they dont seem to have improved much.
  

  PS2 with 12 games.
  pc-windows 7,intel core quad Q8400,4 Gb ddr2,WD 500 GB hdd,ATI Radeon HD 4550 graphics,AOC 22inch LCD moniter.

  29.7.2010 23:31 #4

• KillerBug

  Originally posted by xboxdvl2: ive tried both the ds and the wii and i didnt like either of them.back in the 90s the super nintendo was the thing to own but they dont seem to have improved much. That is because they have not had an original game idea since the SNES. (unless you count the virtual boy disaster).

  30.7.2010 00:29 #5

• Menion

  Its surprising how many people would say that about Nintendo when they completly dominated the industry for the last 3 years. I thought the "Fanboy" erra was over and people just got wise and owned all the consoles to have the oppritunity to play all the great games that were released.
  
  I know the Nintendo releases as of lately have been lacking but to say they have nothing creative...Nintendo has been the leader of Shaping the industry since its release in the US in 85. Lets see..SNES "link to the past was supposed to have the "CD" Rom then sony dropped out of the project and created their own system..that would tell anyone nintendo was responsible for bringing sony to the industry and responsible for Games moving to a CD format on console platform.
  
  The Gameboy..So successful Sony released the PSP, The wii, man must have been such a failure like you all say cause why else would MS & sony be releasing the Natal and whatever the PS3 calls those wands..what a real flop?
  
  Nintendo has always brought innovation, If Nintendo had stepped out of the industry the only thing you would see from now on would be Sony and MIcrosoft just upping specs and prices every generation for better graphics and nothing new. Owning a PC will be cheaper and provide you will all the titles.
  
  I have played through all the Halos, GOW 1&2 COD 3,4,5 Modern warfare 1 & 2, Battlefield 2 and honestly They were all the same, I cant remember what missions were from what games (well odst was different for halo) But the fact of the matter is the game play on the PS3 and & 360 continues to remain the same with their FPS titles.
  
  I finally bought the PS3 for little big planet but up until then i had no reason cause all the titles i wanted for it were available on my 360.
  
  My point is that Nintendo, Sony, & Microsoft are fighting over the same market share but with a unique twist, They should all be respected for their unique capabilities. Microsoft hands down is the best for online gaming, Nintendo owns the most successful franchises with Zelda, Metroid, & Mario. & as of now you arent gonna get a better deal for a bluray player with gaming capabilities than the PS3.
  
  So what if Nintendo loses profits for a quarter SOny and MS been losing profits from day one and praying for software sells, Nintendo also does have every right to blame some of it on piracy as the wii is easily softmodded and the new R4 carts are $17. In order to mod the 360 you have to risk losing online capabilities and nobody has yet to crack the PS3.
  
  But i honestly belive it has everything to do with market saturation, when the 3DS is released Im sure sales will go right back up and when Nintendo puts out the new Zelda their will be a slight increase as history has proven but Nintendo has had one of the most successfull runs a console system has ever seen, thats a title like it or not that Sony and Microsoft has yet to touch with the success of the NES, SNES, WII, GBA, and DS.
  

  31.7.2010 16:44 #6

• Gnawnivek

  Menion, to say that all of the games are same (missions etc)and PS3/Xb0x just offers better graphics etc... It's like saying all games are the same, i.e. press of buttons, duh!
  
  It's the experience... Gears of War, Resistance, Halo, Call of Duty, they're all the same thing, duh! They all have shooting, reloading, sniping, setting switches, flanking, melee etc... So, what's the point? The point being, they're good games! They have different stories, different characters and ultimately different experiences. Unlike Wii's "mini-games" scenario, where all of them are pretty much the same, you played one, you played them all.
  
  Anyway, of course the sale is low compare to the past years, almost everybody has a Wii or DS. As for the games, most people only buy the popular and actually fun titles, most of them are first party titles (duh).
  
  
  

  Peace!

  2.8.2010 10:14 #7

• gnovak1

  My neice has a Wii and it's been collecting dust for the past 6 months now. It probably has cobwebs on it by now.

  2.8.2010 13:41 #8